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Punjabis are originally from the region of Punjab, which is located in both India and Pakistan. The Punjabi people have a rich cultural heritage and have contributed significantly to the history and culture of the Indian subcontinent.
Punjabis derive their name from a geographical, historical, and cultural region located in the northwest of the Indian sub-continent. "Punjab" comes from the Persian words panj (five) and ab (river) and means "Land of the Five Rivers." It was the name used for the lands to the east of the Indus River drained by its five tributaries (the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej). Culturally, the Punjab extends beyond this area to include parts of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, the foothills of the Himalayas, and the northern fringes of the Thar (Great Indian) Desert in RÄjasthÄn.
The Punjab is an ancient center of culture in the Indian subcontinent. It lay within the bounds of the Harappan civilization, the sophisticated urban culture that flourished in the Indus Valley during the 3rd millennium bc. Harappa, one of the two great cities of this civilization, was located on the Ravi River in what is now Pakistan's Punjab Province. The Punjab has also been one of the great thoroughfares of South Asian history. Aryan-speaking nomadic tribes descended from the mountain passes in the northwest to settle on the plains of the Punjab around 1700 bc. Subsequently, Persians, Greeks, Huns, Turks and Afghans were among the many peoples who entered the Indian subcontinent through the northwestern passes and left their mark on the region. Punjabis, who are of Aryan or Indo-European stock, are the modern descendants of the many peoples that passed through the region.
At times in the past, the Punjab and its population have enjoyed a distinct political identity as well as a cultural one. During the 16th and 17th centuries ad, the region was administered as a province of the Moghul Empire. As recently as the 19th century, much of the area was united under the Sikh state of Ranjit Singh. Britain administered the Punjab as a province of its Indian Empire. However, the redrawing of political boundaries in 1947 saw the Punjab divided between India and Pakistan. Punjabis, despite their common cultural heritage, are now either Indians or Pakistanis by nationality.
Punjabis derive their name from a geographical, historical, and cultural region located in the northwest of the Indian sub-continent. "Punjab" comes from the Persian words panj (five) and ab (river) and means "Land of the Five Rivers." It was the name used for the lands to the east of the Indus River drained by its five tributaries (the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej). Culturally, the Punjab extends beyond this area to include parts of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, the foothills of the Himalayas, and the northern fringes of the Thar (Great Indian) Desert in RÄjasthÄn.
The Punjab is an ancient center of culture in the Indian subcontinent. It lay within the bounds of the Harappan civilization, the sophisticated urban culture that flourished in the Indus Valley during the 3rd millennium bc. Harappa, one of the two great cities of this civilization, was located on the Ravi River in what is now Pakistan's Punjab Province. The Punjab has also been one of the great thoroughfares of South Asian history. Aryan-speaking nomadic tribes descended from the mountain passes in the northwest to settle on the plains of the Punjab around 1700 bc. Subsequently, Persians, Greeks, Huns, Turks and Afghans were among the many peoples who entered the Indian subcontinent through the northwestern passes and left their mark on the region. Punjabis, who are of Aryan or Indo-European stock, are the modern descendants of the many peoples that passed through the region.
At times in the past, the Punjab and its population have enjoyed a distinct political identity as well as a cultural one. During the 16th and 17th centuries ad, the region was administered as a province of the Moghul Empire. As recently as the 19th century, much of the area was united under the Sikh state of Ranjit Singh. Britain administered the Punjab as a province of its Indian Empire. However, the redrawing of political boundaries in 1947 saw the Punjab divided between India and Pakistan. Punjabis, despite their common cultural heritage, are now either Indians or Pakistanis by nationality.